It had been a week. Luna had been completely inconsolable since Gusty had helped wake her on the first day.The elder alicorn agreed with the Princess’s sentiment. However, after the first day, Gusty’s tears had stopped. They had been replaced by a terrible immutable sense of emptiness that she knew was supposed to be filled with Guardian Angel’s presence. That unmovable void taunted Gusty Twilight.

Damn that stallion for leaving her when she wanted him most. Damn him for making Luna and Amethyst cry. Damn him for being so stubborn. Damn him for leaving them all! Damn him for making her feel like this! Damn him for-

Fresh tears suddenly found their way to Gusty’s eyes. A hot fire that welled-up from her chest and seemed to consume her head. The vicious heartache felt just as terrible as it had when she had held Guardian Angel in her hooves as he died. Her only solace was her present position: alone atop the Midnight Onyx.

It had been easy to slip away from the shared bed she, Amethyst, and Bunker had been using. A little ethereal magic and a hard determination to be left to sulk alone helped too. It was not that she was ashamed of her tears, far from it. However, for the first time in her life, Gusty wanted to be alone. A simple solitude to wallow in her sadness and truly regret. The staff that had been on Guardian Angel’s payroll made that nearly impossible. All of them insisted that they cater to her every whim, their previous boss had probably ordered them to do so. Even now Gusty could see the faint glint of a spy glass of one of the pegasi that monitored her location. She considered blasting the cloud with a wave of stun magic but let urge pass.

There was no point in spreading the hurt she suffered. The other ponies wer probably upset about what had happened too. With a long sigh Gusty wiped some of her tears away. She took to staring at her hooves sniffling and taking slow steady breaths. It would not become her to fall apart over the death of a stallion, even one so…

Gusty paused and gave a short chortle. She did not have a good word to describe him. Perhaps he was best labeled: Difficult.

It suited him. He probably would have laughed had she ever managed to tell him something quite as philosophical. A few bittersweet tears rolled down her face and Gusty smiled. A few hefty thumbs and crashes of great scales upon rock turned her head to their sound. Ashijinir was easy to see in the daylight. Her glimmering emerald mass moved with purpose towards the airship. Even at the distance that separated them, the alicorn could tell the dragon was looking at her. She would be coming to talk about the future. Their diplomatic situation still had yet to be resolved. It would remain in limbo until Luna had gathered her composure. That did not restrict the Queen of Fire from coming to visit and chat with Gusty, however.

It did not take long for the huge dragoness to reach her perch upon the Onyx. Ashijinir was easily large enough to comfortably sit and have her head be even with the top of the armored balloon. So as she settled down and carefully laid her neck against the aerial warship, Gusty waited.

“I do not grow impatient. I grow worried. Will Luna be able to speak with me today?” The dragon queen asked once she was comfortably positioned.

The alicorn had no answer. She simply stared back at Ashijinir, trying to convey what it felt like to lose Guardian Angel with her eyes alone. Surely the dragoness had not forgotten what it had felt like to lose Torch? Gusty could only assume that her scaly companion’s lack of celebration was the most sympathy she could muster. It was enough. She did not expect Ashijinir to have pity for the demon-stallion. Some grudges just went too deep. Gusty understood that better than anyone else. Truthfully, the only reason she had dared to care about Guardian Angel was because he had refused to accept her mercy. How many times had he openly admitted that he did not deserve the chance she had given him? It had even been one of the last things he had said.

Remembering the moment made Gusty swallow hard. She had nearly gagged and broken into new sobs. It could not be helped. Never had she felt so powerless as the moment he had smiled at her and did everything but tell her he loved her. It infuriated Gusty to some degree. He was always completely cryptic when she spoke to him. Damn that Guardian Angel for not just saying what he so clearly felt! Gusty shuddered out a sigh and tried to clear her throat. If he had told her that, she would have been as truly inconsolable as Luna.

“Mother...What did he do? Why do you mourn him?” Ashijinir pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Nothing. He was just as terrible as the monsters you remember.” Gusty gave the honest answer before she even realized she was speaking.

The Queen of Fire flinched as if she had been struck on the nose.

“What?! Why?! Why do you care then?! Why did you give him mercy?!” She hissed. Her voice was not loud, but filled with a venom so powerful it threatened to melt the steel of the Onyx’s armor.

Gusty looked away from her dragon. This time she wanted to be as clear as possible, without sounding like she had done everything on a whim. Even if perhaps she had made her decisions regarding Guardian Angel in a momentary lapse of judgement based primarily in pity. Thought arranged she replied.

“It was a choice, a chance, that I gave him. If he was to survive my wrath, to prove his worth, then he had to stay the course. He did not waste my pity and mercy. That is why I mourn him. Because in a moment of honest weakness I sent a good stallion to his death because I dared to give him a chance. He was not truly redeemed but he certainly did not die the monster I first met. He did all of this for me.”

Her answer twisted Ashijinir’s features into a scowl then a pout. Finally she settled on an open-mawed grimace of disgust. Her breathing produced smoke and the occasional burst of flame slipped against her huge teeth and out of her nostrils. Gusty merely raised an eyebrow. A few moments passed as the great dragon calmed. She blinked her huge eyes, they audibly made clicks as her lids slapped together.

“He..that dark magic...wait!”

Ashijinir suddenly froze. Her gaze focused and she looked at Gusty with a terrified fire.

“Who sent me the letter saying that the Royal Court of Alicorn’s was compromised by him? Was it you?”

“Huh?”

“Yes, I received a secret communication from one of my representatives that went to Canterlot. Frostbite, a small purple drake, he sent it.”

“What-what are you talking about?”

Gusty was suddenly on edge. Who had known to say such things to Ashijnir? Who would want to make their jobs harder by making the Queen of Fire more hostile towards the diplomatic party that was to visit her? The alicorn had no answers. But she did know for a fact that Guardian Angel would not have sent it, and he was the only one with the contacts to convince a dragon representative to send clandestine messages.

“It is clear to me now that he did not have Ember, Luna, Celestia, and the rest of the pony military under his sway. That is what the letter described. I had thought it was a warning from you. It even instructed me to wait until the diplomatic party arrived, to play along. Even after discovering you were there in Canterlot it was the only thing that made sense. That you had sent the letter, that is.” Ashijinir explained.

The alicorn panted as her mind flew explanations. Whoever had sent the letter had every intention of putting Guardian Angel in the most difficult position possible. It worked too. He was out of the country and in what was effectively enemy territory. Worse it had made a controlled situation regarding Gusty herself impossible. The only ponies that were supposed to know all the information to make such a ploy were herself, Zeccaran, Luna and Celestia. She did not believe anypony else could have done it. It was possible that in some strange fit of dark magic inspired mischief Gusty had done it, but she had no memory of such a deed. She had remembered everything else thanks to Guardian Angel, she would have remembered that too. That meant it was someone she did not know, or someone that knew too much.

Then it dawned on her. Zeccaran had accused a random mare of sabotage and stalking back in Canterlot. That had happened right before the impromptu meeting with Ashijinir that Frostbite had facilitated. That mare!

“I’ll be right back!” Gusty shouted. She did not wait for her scaly companion to respond.

A flash of a teleport spell put her in Zeccaran and Pixie’s cabin. Both shouted, but were powerless to stop her from pouncing on the zebra and teleport him and herself back up to the top of the Onyx’s balloon.

“What the fuck are you doing!? You know what. I don’t even know why I’m surprised, what do you want?” Zeccaran flew through about a dozen emotions as he spoke.

“That thestral mare! Did you ever confirm that she worked for Luna?” Gusty asked hurriedly.

Her friend’s face froze. His pause was almost comical, as his eyes sparkled, his jaw slack. After that brief respite he snapped to complete focus.

“No. I didn’t. I’m surprised you remember.” Zeccaran answered.

“I remember everything thanks to that crazy stallion. We need to ask Luna about her.” Gusty replied.

Ashijinir rumbled. It was her version of a thoughtful hum. The zebra flinched, evidently he had not noticed the dragon’s head until she made noise. However, the dragon queen quickly explained the letter to Zeccaran. Her voice was kept soft, hard to understand as her deep tones were nearly overtaken by the clack of her jaws. However, the striped stallion seemed to grow worried as he took everything Ashijinir had to say.

“I...I think I know who would have sent it.” Zeccaran whispered.

Both Gusty and the Queen of Fire waited on his answer expectantly.

He said something but neither of them could hear him. Gusty instantly walked up against him and insisted he say the name again. He leaned her head down right next to his mouth.

Pixie.

Confused, Gusty stayed her anger. That could not be. She could fathom no reason the younger Stormwalker would do something like this. However, just like she remembered Midnight Blossom, so too did she remember the momentary pause between Guardian Angel and his sister.

“Ctik oihl faggrywd, Cyctal”

“Stop your meddling, Sister”

He had known about the letter!

Gusty drew a sharp breath. The recalled statement made her certain. Pixie had been the one to propel events to where they were now. But if she had done all of this, what was the purpose? She seemed genuinely sad that Guardian Angel was dead. It was not an act, the younger Stormwalker seemed lost. Even when Gusty had snatched Zeccaran away she had hardly reacted, her eyes distant and in anguish.

This time the answers did not matter. A primal, righteous fury burned in the alicorn’s chest. She would have the truth. The pony responsible for Guardian Angel’s death was his own sister, and Gusty was going to find out why.

Her magic sprang from her horn, anger guiding her. She reached out with a combination telekinesis and teleport spell, searching for Pixie in her cabin. The younger Stormwalker had not moved and Gusty grasped her in her magic, pulling her through time and space to be judged before the small gathering.

When Pixie appeared her face waxed fearful. She rapidly blinked her eyes before starting to gag. Gusty was the culprit. She forced her telekinesis tight around the mare’s neck before knocking her over onto her back with a hard shove. Placing a hoof on her exposed chest, the alicorn glowered down at Pixie.

“Why did you send that letter to Ashijinir?”

Gusty’s voice was soft. It did not belie her fury, her anguish. In fact her quiet tone made her sound as if the only thing that was going to keep Pixie alive was the complete truth. The younger Stormwalker may have answered if she was not getting the life choked out of her, but the alicorn wanted her to feel fear. She had no power here. She was not her brother. How dare Pixie betray their friendship and how dare she betray Guardian Angel!

“Gusty you’re gonna fucking kill her! Let her go!” Zeccaran pushed her with his hooves. He did not budge her. However, she did relax her grip on Pixie’s throat.

The mare coughed and spluttered, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her recovery was accentuated by hard puffs of angry smoke from Ashijinir’s nostrils. Gusty was glad her dragon daughter was willing to give her support. It could make all the difference now. To everyone’s surprise, Pixie did not answer once she stopped hacking up breaths. Instead she just hung her head, sobbing softly.

Gusty did not know what to make of this behavior. Her tears were beginning to feel like an act to the alicorn. That was bias at work, but Gusty already knew whatever answer the younger Stormwalker gave her would be insufficient. Pixie angled her head towards Zeccaran but he did not move to comfort her. In fact, he completely ignored the body language, beyond a twisted look of horror and sadness. Whatever was going through the zebra’s head Gusty could not divine. However, just when she was going to give Pixie another throttling the mare pulled her head up.

“I did it so I might mire his plans. That I might glean new information about his connection to you and the other alicorns.” She stated seriously.

“You mean that thing...that everything that you told me was about seeing which of you was better?” Zeccaran beat Gusty to responding. His voice was colored with a healthy disgust.

“Yes. Yes, that is what it was about. And it seems we found our answer.” Pixie hung her head again.

Gusty and Ashijinir swapped their gazes between the two lovers. The elder beings did not have the intel necessary to understand just what Pixie meant by that answer. Regardless, one of Ashijinir’s huge paws found its way up to the top of the Onyx and moved close to Pixie. A great angry rumble sounded from the dragon’s belly.

“Just what do you mean by that? Do you carry that dark curse as well?” She growled. The dragon queen’s claws inched ever closer to the red-maned mare.

Pixie cast a wary glance at her position, but she resolutely nodded. Immediately, Ashijinir’s claws closed and grasped the younger Stormwalker in her paw. The mare did not react beyond a simple grimace. Gusty allowed it to happen. She did not want Pixie trying to escape.

“You were trying to kill him the entire time weren’t you!?” Zeccaran shouted, taking the words right from Gusty’s mouth.

“No!” Pixie shouted back from her scaly prison.

“Like I told you before: it was a matter of philosophy. A game, a-a-a contest! I had no idea this would happen. By Tartarus, Guardian Angel didn’t even know I was plotting until last week. He never considered what I had meant, I don’t think he even remembers that conversation we had all those decades ago!” Pixie sobbed.

Gusty had never seen her “friend” lose her cool like this before. She may not have known Pixie for much more than a few months but the mare was unflappable. It was clear. For Faust’s sake she was dating Zeccaran! You had to be accepting and graceful to the highest degree to manage that. Something remained, however, and Pixie had just done a poor job of dancing around it.

“What exactly did you mean? What was this conversation?” Gusty seethed.

The mare hung her head, her chin pressing against Ashijnir’s digits. She raked out haggard breaths that made her whole body shudder. Her voice echoed with something between a sob and a wail of anger. Pixie murmured unintelligibly to herself as she cried and shook. Finally, after what felt like several hours she calmed down to sniffles and slow, whimpering breaths. She looked up, her eyes blood-shot from crying.

“I cannot explain it, not truly. Know that I engaged in a conspiracy to restrict the world's access to knowledge. All of it was to exert control over normal creatures, to keep them ignorant of how tenuous the safety of this world is. Guardian Angel...my brother...he put a stop to it. He didn’t even realize he had done it. The letter-it-it...it was a test, a measure of revenge, to see if he could continue to outplay me in a game he did not even know he was playing.”

She paused and drew a spluttering breath.

“I didn’t believe it, I swear I didn’t. I never believed how serious this all was. I never believed that the entirety of all existence was dependent on him being able to stop you from going critical. I had heard rumors of what had happened in the Frozen North. I didn’t believe them. I saw you rip apart a volcano on a whim, even so I didn’t believe it. It wasn’t until I saw his corpse. I thought it was some ruse to get me to drop my guard. I should have listened, I should have cared about what was happening.. I...I was wrong….I was wrong about everything...”

Gusty could only look on in disbelief. She knew now that Pixima Stormwalker was broken, a mockery. No, it was untrue. Even as her eyes registered Pixie just slump forward against Ashijinir’s scales, Gusty could not make herself accept it. The red-maned mare knew better. There simply was no scenario that allowed for her to fall prey to something quite so obvious.

The alicorn wanted to throttle her previous friend. The thought sent shivers down her spine. It was rare that she would ever consider somepony no longer her friend. Of all the ponies she had ever met, Gusty was certain Pixie deserved to be discounted. It was with great disdain that she motioned for Ashijinir to release the younger Stormwalker. The great dragon obliged albeit slowly and with several puffs of hot ash and fire.

Pixie slumped down once she was free. She made no attempt to escape, no attempt to act. All she did was quietly sniffle and continue to cry. Gusty felt her own tears. Those hot salt water droplets were of hurt, betrayal, and loss, but the alicorn could no longer stop them. As much as she wanted to revile the white mare for her selfish stupidity, it would not bring Guardian Angel back. And if it was a genuine mistake, even as much as Gusty’s blood ran hot, she did not dare to add to the situation. He would not have approved. Thus, she stood there crying, until Zeccaran cleared his throat.

“So everything you’ve been upset about over the last few days. It's been that you were wrong.” He said.

Pixie glumly nodded. She did not look up at him. Something about how Zeccaran phrased the statement made Gusty angry. She realized it was because he left out Guardian Angel. In a fury she bit her tongue to keep from interrupting the zebra.

“Do you miss him?” Zeccaran asked.

At that Pixie looked up. Her eyes were wide with fear and uncertainty. She seemed to not be able to answer but after a moment the anxiety faded from her face and the mare again hung her head.

“He promised me you. A-and he delivered.” Pixie murmured.

“I was a fool for ever thinking my idealistic brother would do anything less than ensure everyone’s survival except his own. I was blinded by the idea of a worthy opponent, of a big dark boogieman to play my cards against. I never took into account his insatiable desire for equinity.” Her voice became clearer and less sad as she spoke.

“Yes. I miss him. I miss his bad attitude and his ability to push my buttons. But that stallion...I had thought died long ago. When you, Zeccaran, robbed him of everything he had ever wanted. Killed it. But, I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.”

Pixie laid forward and covered her face with her forehooves. She heaved heavy breaths and loudly wept. She sat up, clenching her jaw and trying to remain controlled enough to speak.

“I-I wish I could use everything I h-have to make this right, b-but I can’t.” She blubbered through gritted teeth.

Pixie then broke down into snivels and whines. Zeccaran turned to Gusty as if to ask her permission to comfort the mare. Their eyes met for a time and a strange sadness seemed to well-up within the zebra. The alicorn nodded. Her striped friend needed some kind of closure, and she would not deny him it. Even if that meant he took to comforting Pixie. Zeccaran did so of course, but what else was there at this point?

Gusty slumped down onto her rump and closed her eyes. A few sad tears slipped past her lashes as she sat there wondering what she was to do now. Luna would kill Pixie if she knew. There had been enough death. The moony mare would have to learn the truth later.

Gusty decided that she had enough of the drama that she had foolishly summoned to her sanctuary. Rising up to her full height she cast a somber glance at Ashijinir. The great dragon’s emerald eye blinked and folded in a respectful if sorrowful manner. The alicorn made her way to her companion’s snout and hugged the hard scales. Ashijinir hummed a long, low sigh in appreciation.

“I’m going to see him.” She told her scaly ward. A gentle nod that moved the whole airship was the response.

With a flash of a teleport spell, Gusty left her friends. Her heart was numb and tired. Pixie had been a fool, a jealous, nearly-evil fool. Ashijinir had been caught up in her righteous anger. Zeccaran at least had been himself, but that was not saying much. That was why when she opened her eyes after her spell had completed and she beheld Guardian Angel she started to sob again. There were far too many regrets to list.

However, after the initial shock Gusty realized she was not alone. Behind her, she heard a familiar sniffle. Luna.

Turning she met the blue alicorn’s eyes. Silence reigned between them, and there was nothing more than staring into the sparkling voids that were each other’s pupils. Gusty revelled in the sensation. It was like being pulled into the Astral Realm without sleeping. The simplicity of their interaction, conveyed in that long moment more than words ever could have. Luna was not angry at her, to Gusty’s surprise. No, Luna only wished that her Guardian Angel had survived. They agreed on that. The younger alicorn seemed to take notice of her concurrence. Sadly, there was no fixing what had happened, he had chosen this path. And once Guardian Angel made his mind up about something that something had a tendency to happen, sooner or later. Gusty would have willingly traded anything to stave off the inevitable for even a few more seconds of him in her mind. She had been happy, truly. For those few scant seconds where they were one it had been all that had mattered. Now all she had was a broken and empty nostalgia that was more regret that it was pleasant.

That was her lot, however. It always had been. Always to forge ahead, forgoing the past because she could not change it. The void, the ever-changing future it was now in her control. No longer was she haunted by the screams of dead ponies. No, instead she remembered fondly all the happiness her many families had brought her. The thought brough fresh tears to her eyes. She no longer saw Luna, Gusty was back there again in the past, playing through memories. The cocky look on his face when they had first met. It made her smile. It would be forever hers. That was how it was to be, the fate of the world was in the hooves of the alicorns and the dragons, free from the dark influence of the Shadow-kin. That fact swelled her heart with joy, and there was exactly one reason that had come to pass.

Gusty turned and looked at her fallen friend. Confidently she took a few steps to him, and stroked his mane. He was that reason. She wished desperately to tell him how much it meant to her even though she could not.

“Did you love him?” Luna suddenly asked, breaking her from her internal musings.

“From the moment I met him.” Gusty answered truthfully. It felt a bit weird to say, but that was from repressing the factuality of the admission for so long.

“It’s time we take him home.” She continued.

Luna tearfully nodded. Gusty nearly did the same. There were far too many emotions for her. After being dominated for so long by anger and hatred she barely knew how to process the mix of melancholy, joy, regret, yet contentedness. Not to mention how much there was to do in the wake of everything that happened. A new determination came over Gusty and it was with purpose that she moved to speak to Ashijinir again, this time as a formal representative of Equestria. It would be a struggle to maintain the ability to feel. She knew that. She knew that he would have expected her to continue to improve too. A momentary sentiment of pleased agreement touched her mind.

Gusty paused at the door to the room, and spun to look at him. It must have just been her imagination. A false memory left in her mind by him. She took solace in the thought. A part of him was inside of her mind now, and it would remain that way forever.

And that made Gusty smile. A calm, bittersweet smile, that made her eyes water. With a final breath the alicorn turned away and left the room. There would be more tears, there would be more mourning. That was how it was meant to be, because she could handle the pain. She would persevere and set things right. That damned fool Guardian Angel could not. And that perhaps was the best decision he had ever made. A demon could never have led the world to peace. It was too bad it had not been a demon that had died.

If that is what you chose to believe, sweetheart.

Author's Note

Well. Its been over four years but its done.
It feels good to have accomplished it.
Thanks for being here everyone, means a lot!
The goal was to see if at least one other person liked it and i think i maybe had like 5?
500% return?! That's amazing!

Thanks again